On T List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
1/14, 4/17
1/14:
Chalk up To Catch a Thief among top five Hitchcock pictures along with The 39 Steps,
Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, and
Psycho.
Look up the definition of the word "handsome," and you might find a picture of Cary Grant. He would've made a perfect James
Bond because To Catch a Thief feels like it was produced by Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.
Of course, minus the fancy gimmicky moments, it's instead Alfred Hitchcock's picture. His expertise is manifested through
the well-written screenplay, the exotic locales, the perfect chemistry between Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, the wonderful fashion
designs by Edith Head, and the resplendent cinematography of the French Riviera.
All in all, to know what makes a master director is see how everything comes together so well in a film, and that's what
Alfred Hitchcock did for To Catch a Thief.
4/17:
I'm downgrading the rating of To Catch a Thief from '10' to '9'.
It's a great classic film, no doubt. I love the Oscar-winning cinematography of the French Riviera, which is the chief reason
for its high replayability value, and I think it's the best work of Cary Grant's career. In top form, he never looked
this good or had a better character than John Robie aka The Cat who's by far the sexiest character of all Hitchcock films.
The problem is how formulaic the plot is. I've seen this many times already; it's just Alfred Hitchcock flogging a dead horse.
It's not suspenseful enough, and the story is lightweight, too. The other is how poor Grace Kelly's performance is.
When I look past her tanned and blonde looks, she's superficial, showing no talent in acting. Grace Kelly
somewhat throws the film off-balance which explains why I kept relying on Cary Grant to carry the weight the rest of the way.
I've enjoyed everybody else including Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams, and Brigitte Auber, among others. They're
fun and therefore add intrigue to the mystery. But when Grace Kelly appears, she doesn't have it. However, I might be
hard-pressed to think of a better substitute, but perhaps Kim Novak?
One of the most amusing cameos in Alfred Hitchcock's career is when John Robie took a look to his left and the camera slowly
panned over to the director. The film is also famous for an eerie reason: Grace Kelly was killed in an
automobile accident on September 14, 1982, not too far from where her character had a picnic with John Robie.
All in all, To Catch a Thief will always be regarded as an exquisite Hitchcock classic, but it's not a masterpiece
enough.